Elephant Back and West Thumb

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Hayden Valley
Hayden Valley

Heading south of Yellowstone Canyon took us through the Hayden Valley where the river was a placid contrast to the torrents pouring over Upper and Lower Falls. However, despite this calm appearance, we were on the verge of one of Yellowstone’s most geologically volatile regions at Mud Volcano.

Its first manifestation is Sulphur Cauldron, a spring with waters about ten times as acidic as lemon juice. Sulphur-rich gasses rise furiously.

Sulphur Cauldron
Sulphur Cauldron

Across the road is the Mud Volcano area itself. Features include Cooking Hillside – I’ve included the information board not just for the explanation of how it got its name, but also to show how the treeline had retreated even further since it was erected.

Mud Volcano area
Churning Cauldron
Mud Volcano
Dragon’s Mouth Spring
Cooking Hillside
Cooking Hillside

After a picnic by the river, we decided to tackle Elephant Back Mountain, a 3.5 mile loop trail which sounds more impressive than it is – only 800 feet elevation change. Not really a mountain then! A heavily wooded trail leads to good views from the top over Yellowstone Lake.

Elephant Back Mountain
Elephant Back Mountain

We then drove along the shores of the lake to West Thumb Geyser Basin, a small volcanic caldera formed inside the main Yellowstone caldera about 150,000 years ago. Some wildlife encounters en route!

By Yellowstone Lake
By Yellowstone Lake

If Mud Volcano was all about – well – mud, here we were back to glorious colour. There was something magical about wandering along in the late afternoon sunshine with the lake on one side and these jewel-bright springs on the other.

West Thumb
West Thumb
West Thumb
West Thumb
West Thumb
West Thumb
West Thumb
West Thumb

We returned to the Lodge tired but happy. In the next instalment we see the Park’s most famous geyser, Old Faithful – but prefer some of its neighbours.

USA, Wyoming , , ,

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  4. How beautiful! Seeing the deer makes me think I will suddenly see a captain saying Walt Disney presents….:) I love the myriad of colours-really something to see

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  9. Why, oh why, didn’t I set off on my travels when I was much younger? I guess cash constraints played their part. Ah well! Can’t see ALL of this beautiful world, but aren’t blogs great? 🙂 Happy weekend, Anabel!

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  10. All of these posts make me want to get back on the road! I have always wanted to visit Yellowstone during the winter. I think it would be amazing to see the place in the snow.

    And I can’t wait for Old Faithful – one of my favorite geysers is over there: Anemone Geyser. It is right along the boardwalk and you can see the entire eruption cycle of the geyser in just a few minutes. It’s not big or impressive, but it’s just fascinating to see the whole process.

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  11. Yellowstone definitely looks a lot like New Zealand in places…I saw someone above commented about the smells of Rotorua, and that’s exactly what I’m flashing back to, that awful stinky night in an awful stinky motel in Rotorua! It was probably worth it for the bubbling mud pools and volcanic valley walk the next day, but the pools in Yellowstone do look more excitingly aggressive!

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  12. è incredibile pensare come sotto questo affascinante e straordinario territorio dorma un vulcano sotterraneo che quando decidesse di esplodere tornerebbe a cambiare totalmente la morfologia della zona e di gran oarte della regione!
    vi ringrazio per il bellissimo ed interessante reportage
    felice sera Annalisa

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  13. Nice to see all that water in the first photograph. With America being so vast you can travel a long way from Lake District type scenery or coastal features.One thing I missed touring Australia’s deserts years ago in summer conditions (and I never though I’d say this) was all the water features, moist climate and the rain in Scotland. Any holiday abroad seems to make you appreciate your own country more as they had just gone through a 10 year drought when I was there and folk were ecstatic over even a light trickle flowing again in the creeks after rain. Maybe another reason why Yellowstone and the thermal pools are so popular with the variety there.

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    • A lot of people seem to be surprised. I was myself – I wasn’t expecting geothermal activity to be quite so widespread and so varied. “Only” two more Yellowstone posts to go – and the best sight was on the very last day so stay tuned!

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  17. The colors of the springs are mind-blowing. The more photos I see about Yellowstone, the more impressed I become. It truly must be the most varied and spectacular National Park of this country.

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  23. Hi Anabel – fascinating to see and note … and what a great little mini-hike … looks amazing – but yes the sulphur smell must be pretty nauseous after a while. Cheers Hilary

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